The NLL Blog

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

With a loss to the Georgia Swam and two losses in a home and home with the Rochester Knighthawks last weekend, the Toronto Rock are 0-3 for the first time since 2006. Back then, they started 0-4, and got their first win against the lowly Edmonton Rush, (who are no longer so lowly). The Rock's main problem so far has been a lack of goal scoring, scoring seven goals in two contests, and five in the other. As a team that has been known for its offensive firepower, this is a new problem for them.

The offense has looked like group of guys that have never played with each other before, and instead of sharing the ball and delivering the balanced attack that made them deadly last season, they are working as a group of individuals who are struggling to put the ball in the net by themselves. Some people have come out and said this is a size issue, with most of Toronto's forwards being of the shorter side, but the issue maybe some leaning on players who may not be able to handle the workload consistently.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Looking at a team's or player's shooting percentage tells you a lot, but not what most may think. As much as one's skill can influence their S%, luck can influence it greatly in a short sample size, so its hard to judge players with little experience by this stat. Looking at shooting percentage also factors in goal-tending numbers, complicating things further and adding even more luck into the equation. There are only so many goals in a season, but there are a lot of shots, allowing us to use those to get better data. Because any shot on goal could end up as a goal, it allows shots to be used to grade a shooter. We just have to look at the percentage of the player's or team's shots that actually hit the net. If a team has a pile of shot attempts, but doesn't hit the net, they won't do much good.

TEAM

G

S

SOG

SOFF

OnNet%

Edmonton Rush

134

740

562

178

75.95%

Calgary Roughnecks

154

781

578

203

74.01%

Toronto Rock

161

932

687

245

73.71%

Rochester Knighthawks

138

744

545

199

73.25%

Minnesota Swarm

118

851

623

228

73.21%

Vancouver Stealth

129

766

556

210

72.58%

Buffalo Bandits

133

789

570

219

72.24%

Philadelphia Wings

143

906

651

255

71.85%

Colorado Mammoth

137

857

607

250

70.83%

The chart above shows OnNet% for each team, evaluated by dividing the number of shots on goal by the team's total shots. It isn't very surprising to see Edmonton at the top of the list, as they have been a the top of the standings all year. The only real outlier is the Buffalo Bandits, who have been the teams luckiest team this year, getting great goaltending from Anthony Cosmo.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

The Edmonton Rush are re-writing the NLL record books with every new win. The now 10-0 club has a start that may not be matched for a long time to come.

With this type of history being made Mr. Mike Wilson and myself once asked, what's the complete opposite of a start like this? Many moons ago I touched on them briefly in an article for the blog, but the team that would be the anti 2014 Rush,would have to be the 1996 Charlotte Cobras.

0-10. That was how Charlotte finished their only season in the MILL. They were all kinds of awful and reached depths so low that I don't think any other team in the NLL could ever reach even if they tried.

Just how bad were the Cobras? Well let me show you some numbers....

-They scored only 85 goals, while giving up 186. Meaning that they on average lost by about 10 goals a game. No other team in the MILL that year scored less than 125 or even came close to allowing 180 goals.

-Pat McCready who would go on to a have a long and very successful MILL/NLL career led the team in scoring as a rookie. How many points did he have? 25. That's not a joke. No other player on the team would get to 20 points.

-Charlotte gave up 20 or more goals 4 times in a game, with the worst example being a 28-6 loss to the Buffalo Bandits.

-Speaking of Buffalo, John Tavares in 1996 had 81 points, his assist totals alone would have led the Cobras in scoring (40 assists).

Looking at these stats it wouldn't have shocked me if they found a way to have played inter-squad games where both teams lost.

There was one claim to fame that was not entirely negative, the Cobras once held the distinction of being the southermost franchise in league history (a mark now held by the now defunct Orlando Titans).

Without a doubt the Cobras were the furthest thing from this year's Rush, although maybe the NLL just for fun should hold an exhibition game between the two sqauds to see what the score would be.

My guess? 25-3 Edmonton. At halftime. The Rexall Place scoreboard would not be able to handle what the final score may be.

Monday, February 24, 2014

With NLL scheduling imbalances, it's hard to really judge the scoring leaders as they have all played a varying amount of games. This post is up as a quick reference to me and other fans who want a quick look at a stat (Points per game) that is somehow not available on the NLL website.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

One of the NLL's best is at it again, and he's joined the craze of making trick shot videos.

Colorado's John Grant Jr made a trick shot video that he recorded with team GM Steve Govett and well let's just say it's something that could blow the wispy hair off of Donald Trump's head, check it out....

After I watched it for the first time these thoughts were running through my head....

-The skeet shooting with the frisbees, I bet John could do with one arm tied behind his back.

-Even with a helmet I wouldn't let JGJ fire a ball at my cranium...Govitt is all kinds of wild.

-Scoring from the stands and press box is actually Jr showing off a new rule addition that will come into play in the 2014 season...I can't wait!

-Shooting pucks while playing lacrosse is pure overdose of Canadiana I was shocked I didn't explode into a pile of maple syrup and Bryan Adams CD's while watching it.

- The camera didn't capture everyone fleeing from the falling banner which would have covered the entire state of Colorado if this happened at Mile High Stadium.

-If I tried to fire a ball through the camera lens hole I'd smash the glass and be forced to repair it for some unknown reason.

It's a fantastic video and a great way for the Mammoth and the NLL as a whole to get some mainstream exposure in the sports world, who knows maybe some other players across the league could challenge him and do trick shot videos of their own.

Lastly, with the distance that John got from tossing his stick into the stands he instantly became Peyton Manning's backup on the Broncos.